Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

The creature bent down and picked up Isaac and hoisted him over his shoulders and headed toward the garage.

"No!" Katie screamed. "Let him go!" She pulled on the creature's legs of the coveralls, but it ignored her like it would a grasshopper jumping at its ankles.

Simon meanwhile wrapped himself tightly around the creature's other leg.

"Let go of my brother!" he said.

But it ignored him as well, dragging his leg that Simon was attached to.

Isaac grimaced with each step the creature took. He saw Katie pick up a stick and shouting as loudly as she could, run to the creature and strike its back.

The stick broke into two pieces, sending splinters and dust into the air.

The creature stopped briefly and stared down at Katie before entering the garage with Simon still clinging to his leg.

Inside, the creature took Isaac to their blanket that was still spread out on the floor of the garage and deposited him like he would a sack of potatoes. It stared down at Simon who unwound himself from its leg, and then it strode to the other end of the garage and stood in the shadows.

Katie saw the muzzle of the shotgun under the part of the blanket where she slept and rushed to it. She disengaged the safety and pump loaded a shell into the chamber and aimed it at the creature, standing silently in the dark.

"No, wait!" said Simon. "Please, don't do it, Katie!"

"Why not?" she asked, incredulously.

"If he wanted to harm us, he would've done it already!" he responded.

"Simon!" said Isaac, lying on his side and steadying his injured leg. "Get out of her way!"

The creature stared at them, his eyes moving from one child to another.

"He could have hurt all of us, but he didn't," said Simon.

"Simon!" yelled Isaac. "Shut up! Just shut up! Katie, do it. Before it's too late."

Katie aimed the shotgun once more at the creature, gazing at her soundlessly.

Simon turned his back on what was happening. He squatted, squeezed his eyes shut, and covered his ears, waiting for the concussion from the blast that he would feel in his bones, but none came. He braved a peek over his shoulder and saw that Katie had lowered the shotgun. She still had the muzzle pointing at the creature but only as a precaution.

"Maybe we should just wait and see for a little bit," she said.

"Yes!" said Simon.

Isaac gave a groan of exasperation mixed with pain.

"Simon," said Katie, "take your brother into the office and get our supplies from the wagon."

"Ok!" Simon answered excitedly.

He helped his brother who scooted on his behind into the small, glass-paneled office, which had an aluminum desk, a filing cabinet, and two wooden chairs. On a bulletin board hung a calendar with nature scenes and various receipts and forms. Simon helped Isaac into one of the chairs and propped his injured leg up on the other. Afterward, he opened to the door that led to the outside and stuck his head out to make sure the area was safe. Satisfied enough, he ran to the wagon and pulled it back to the garage where he transferred their supplies into the small office.

When Simon had readied everything, Katie backed into the office, always having the muzzle trained at the creature, which seemingly hadn't moved during the entirety of the encounter.

Once inside the office, Katie quickly closed the door and put the muzzle of the shotgun through the sliding transaction window and aimed it once again at the creature.

"How bad is it?" she asked Isaac without turning around.

Isaac lifted his pant leg, and Simon gingerly took off his brother's shoe and sock and gasped when he saw the bloated ankle beginning to turn red.

Katie glanced behind her at the ankle and grimaced.

"Is it broken?" she asked, returning her attention to the creature.

"I don't know," said Isaac, breathing through gritted teeth.

"Aren't we supposed to put ice on it or something?" she asked.

"I don't know. I think so," said Isaac.

"Wait." Simon got up and headed to the door that led to the outside. He cautiously surveyed the area before leaving the office and immediately started touching stones, feeling for ones that had released the heat from the day. He found several smooth ones half-buried in the soft dirt next to a large boulder, and using his shirt as a cradle, he carried them back to his brother.

"Try these," he said. Taking one stone, he placed it lightly on the most swollen area. "Better?"

Isaac sighed and nodded.

"So what happens now?" Katie asked.

"We'll wait until the morning," replied Isaac. "We'll see if my ankle feels any better. If it does, we'll keeping moving. We have about two days of water left. Hopefully, we'll come across something by then."

"And if it doesn't feel better?" asked Katie.

Isaac stared at his swollen ankle, which felt like pulses of electricity were running through it, and he knew it would be impossible for him to put any weight on it anytime soon. If they had found any running water at this service station, perhaps they could wait out the injury. But they had searched the station thoroughly, and they couldn't find any working pumps or faucets.

"You leave me behind and try to find water, and if you can, come back for me."

"What?" asked Simon. "You wouldn't last a day here by yourself. Look out there, Isaac. There's nothing! It would be days before we found anything, and days for us to get back! Tell him, Katie!"

She closed her eyes, feeling the full impact of what she was about to say.

"If the three of us stay here, we all die," she responded.

They remained silent as the words sunk in.

"She's right, Simon," Isaac said.

Simon shook his head defiantly.

"No. No," he said. "There's another way. We could ask him." Simon nodded toward the garage where the creature was standing.

Both Isaac and Katie stared at him.

"What are you talking about," said Isaac. "Ask him what?"

"For help."

"Are you crazy?"

"Maybe he knows something that we don't."

"His brain has rotted away, Simon. Do you understand? That makes him unpredictable, and unpredictable is bad."

"We don't know how much of his brain has been affected. Besides, I'll keep a safe distance."

"What? No! Not you," said Isaac.

"It can't be Katie because she needs to handle the gun, and it can't be you because of your ankle."

Isaac sighed with exasperation and looked to Katie for support.

"It's worth a try," she said.

The office door into the garage swung open, and Simon stepped out as Katie steadied the barrel on the window sill and took careful aim at the creature's head.

Simon could see it in the shadows at the far end of the garage among the work tables and machinery.

"Hi," Simon said, taking a few steps closer. "I'm Simon."

Only silence returned.

"I... just wanted to say thank you for helping us. You saved our lives. We wouldn't have made it without our wagon. I know we don't belong here. But… we need your help again." Simon stopped at the edge of the shadows as fear and doubt began to course through him.

Isaac watched from his chair at his brother, and he could see Simon trembling, as he often did when faced with overwhelming moments. As an infant, Simon would have fevers that would cause convulsions, with his eyes rolling to white and his body hardening to stone. Their mother would wash him with a cool cloth until his muscles relaxed, and for hours after, she would hold him, still quivering, until he fell asleep in her arms.

"Simon," he said as evenly as possible. "Come back."

But Simon couldn't hear him. His whole world had collapsed to just him and this creature that could end his life with one leap.

"We're trying to get back to the city," he said. "To find our parents. It's been… so long since we've seen them."

"Simon," said Isaac a bit louder.

"But we need some water, maybe… maybe a little bit of food, or we're not going to make it. Can you…"

The creature suddenly moved towards Simon, who stumbled back.

"Simon!" said Isaac.

Katie tensed.

The creature walked up and glared at the child who came only to his waist. It made a guttural sound from deep within its throat and exited the garage through the back door.

Isaac and Katie stared at one another with raised eyebrows. But Simon ran after it.

"Wait!" said Isaac.

Katie slung the shotgun over her back and helped Isaac to his feet. After draping his arm around her shoulders, they hobbled out the door.

The sun was rising, painting the landscape in vermilion. With heavy steps, the creature walked down a dirt path lined with giant granite formations that resembled the skin of some ancient animal. Several paces back came Simon who had to jog intermittently to keep up. And farther behind was Isaac, who was hopping on one foot and leaning against Katie.

The path bent around some tall rocks. Simon saw the creature disappear around the bend, and he hurried to not lose sight of it. When he turned the corner, he stopped, not fully understanding or perhaps believing what he was seeing.

Katie and Isaac saw Simon at the bend, motionless, staring at something in the distance.

"What is it?" shouted Isaac.

Katie and Isaac hurried as fast as they could until they too were at the bend. When they saw it, they stood silently at the sight before them.

Surrounded by towering rocks, a well-kept two-story Victorian home stood, bathed in the morning light, the kind the children would see in fairy tale books, complete with a manicured lawn and a bed of carnations.